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Full Moon and Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in Japan - Population-Based, Double-Controlled Case Series Analysis
Junya Sado1, Kosuke Morikawa2, Satoshi Hattori3
1Medicine for Sports and Performing Arts, Department of Health and Sport Sciences, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine Osaka Japan.
Circulation Reports
|March 11, 2021
Summary
A study found no increased risk of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) during full moon nights. This research on OHCA occurrence provides evidence against the common belief that lunar phases influence medical emergencies.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- A prevalent belief suggests lunar phases, particularly the full moon, influence human behavior and health outcomes.
- This belief has led to speculation about a potential increase in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) events during full moon periods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between full moon nights and the occurrence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).
- To determine if lunar phases have a statistically significant impact on cardiac emergencies.
Main Methods:
- A nationwide, population-based observational study in Japan analyzed OHCA data from 2005 to 2016.
- A double-control method compared OHCA occurrences on full moon nights with control nights (same calendar days, 1 week before and after).
- Poisson sampling was assumed to evaluate the average number of OHCA events.
Main Results:
- Analysis included 29,552 OHCA events on 148 full moon nights and 58,707 OHCA events on 296 control nights.
- No significant difference in OHCA occurrence was found between full moon and control nights (RR: 1.007, 95% CI: 0.993-1.021).
- Subgroup analysis for cardiac and non-cardiac origins also showed no significant differences.
Conclusions:
- The study found no statistically significant association between full moon nights and the occurrence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
- These findings do not support the hypothesis that lunar phases influence the incidence of OHCA in the studied population.
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